When you suspect child abuse

• In the presence of the child or adolescent, try to be as calm as possible and try to keep the child’s everyday life unchanged. 

• If your suspicions arise from the words of a child or young person, write down in as much detail as possible what they say, the context in which the matter came up and any questions you may have asked. When writing, use the child’s or adolescent’s own expressions as accurately as possible. Do not add your own interpretations or fill in any gaps in the report. 

• If you want to find out more details for what a child or adolescent has told you, use open and neutral questions, such as “What do you mean?” or “Tell me a little more about it.” 

• Settle with the information you do have, if the child or adolescent does not spontaneously want to talk about it. Do not demand or pressure the child or adolescent to tell you more about the matter, but rather leave the investigation to the experts. You can tell the child or adolescent that you are listening to them and that they can talk to you about anything they want. 

• Avoid talking about the matter to other adults in the presence of the child or adolescent and try to vent your own anxiety so that they are not present. Sometimes strong reactions from the surrounding people can be as harmful to the child or adolescent as the experience of being a victim of the crime itself. Try to protect the child or adolescent from such reactions. 

• If the child or adolescent has physical injuries or marks, take them to see a doctor.

• Contact your local police department as soon as possible and report the offence if necessary.

• The police will assess whether to open a preliminary investigation and make decisions on the necessary investigative measures, such as interviewing the child. From the point of view of the investigation, it is important that the subject of suspicion is discussed as little as possible with the child or adolescent and without prompting them before their official interview. For more information, please refer to section Investigating suspected abuse of a child.

• You can also get instructions and assistance in the matter from child welfare services.

• Sometimes suspicion can also arise based on conversations or images viewed on the Internet. If you notice any material online referring to the sexual abuse or attempted abuse of a child, please contact the police Net-tip or file a report using the Save the Children Finland website’s Finnish Hotline Nettivihje feature (in Finnish).

Suspicion of abuse of a child or adolescent can awaken a wide range of emotions and thoughts in loved ones. It is worth remembering, however, that it is often only a question of a suspicion that the authorities are beginning to clarify.

A child’s reports suggesting abuse must always be taken seriously. Competent authorities are able to assess whether there is reason to suspect a crime in the matter. Sometimes suspicions can turn out to be so-called false alarms. A concerned adult may without noticing it lead a child to “tell” about abuse, even when it was not originally the case. The child may also unconsciously produce unfounded suspicion, for example, by confusing imagination and reality or misinterpreting a situation.

Suspicion of abuse may also arise due to the child’s symptoms. However, based on the child’s symptoms, it is not yet possible to draw any conclusions about abuse. Other explanations that are more likely than abuse may also be at the root of the child’s abnormal behavior or other symptoms. It is very individual how a child or adolescent reacts to abuse, and some of the children and young people who have experienced abuse do not show any symptoms. However, a child’s symptoms must always be taken seriously.

Contrary to what is often thought, children’s emotional reactions or body language cannot be used for concluding whether their narrative is true or not. For example, when reporting long-term abuse, a child may not show much emotion, and on the other hand, the child may have clear signs of anxiety when accounting a made-up story. In sexual abuse of a child under school age, the child may not even understand the nature of the event and may consider it just playing.

In all life situations, including when a suspicion of child abuse arises, the support of one’s family and other loved ones and a safe everyday life are the most important things for the child. Children and adolescents have the ability to cope with even nasty experiences if they receive support and, if necessary, treatment to process their experiences. The need for treatment and support is always individual and should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. More information can be found on the page about symptoms of abuse in a child.

A parent’s suspicion of a violent or sexual offence against a child may seem heavy and stressful. In such a situation, it can be difficult to take the child’s needs into account. However, there are also upsides to this matter surfacing: the authorities are able to investigate the incident and the child and adults have access to help. Sometimes it is good for a parent to talk about their own emotions with a professional. Support is available, for example, from the national crisis helpline number 09 2525 0111, which is maintained by Mental Health Finland.

More information on the topic can be found in the Ministry of Justice’s guide on children as victims of crime (PDF) (in Finnish).

• If a child or adolescent tells you about abuse they have suffered, remain calm and listen to them. Ask as little as possible.

• You can encourage the child and adolescent to continue talking to you, for example, by saying “Tell me more about this”or “You said that... What do you mean by that / What does it mean?” or “You told me that... Then what happened?”. Do not bring up things into the conversation that the child or adolescent themselves has not mentioned, such as your assumptions about the possible perpetrator. Accept the situation if the child does not want to talk more about the matter spontaneously. Do not bring up your own opinions; remain neutral.

• Write down what the child has told you as soon as possible. Also write down your own questions.  For the purpose of assessing the reliability of the child’s report, it is essential to know the situation in which the matter came up, who was present, and what was discussed prior to the matter. In your account of the matter, use the expressions of the narrator/narrators themselves. Do not interpret or supplement any unclear parts in the report.

• Avoid discussing the suspicion and related topics among adults in front of the child or adolescent. You can ask the parent more specific questions if the child or adolescent is not present. Also advise the parent not to talk about the matter in the presence of the child or ask the child about it.

• Report the suspicion to the child welfare authorities and the police as soon as possible. If necessary, you can consult the police and child welfare services without mentioning the name of the child or adolescent before filing a report. Agree with the police on who you can talk to about the suspicion.  Especially in situations where the suspect is a member of the child’s family, it is relevant from the point of view of the police investigation when the suspect learns about the matter.

• Tell the child or adolescent, according to their age and level of development, what will happen next. For example, for a small child, you can say that the adults will now continue to take care of the matter. You can tell an adolescent that it is your duty to report the matter further and other authorities will start to investigate the matter.

• Talk to the child and adolescent about the need for support they are experiencing. For example, you can ask, “How are you feeling?” or “What would help you the most right now?”​

• If you continue to meet with the child or adolescent after the suspicion has arisen, please note that matters related to the suspicion should not be discussed until the child has been interviewed by the police. In unclear situations, consult with the police or child welfare services.

Persons working in social welfare and health care, child day care, education, youth services, morning and afternoon activities for schoolchildren, the police, fire and rescue services, criminal sanctions agency, asylum seeker reception center and parishes, or other religious communities are obliged to report without delay, without the restriction of confidentiality regulations, to the police and child welfare services, if they have reason to suspect, as a result of matters which have become aware of their work, that a child has been sexually abused or assaulted. The above obligation applies to persons working in both the public and private sectors. Child Welfare Act (2007/417, section 25.)

In case of suspected sexual offences, the police must be notified almost without exception. However, conclusions about abuse cannot be drawn only on the basis of a child’s behavior or symptoms (refer to the page on sexual behavior of a child).

Nor is it considered a crime if an incident does not violate the sexual autonomy of the subject and the age and mental and physical maturity of the parties do not differ significantly. The obligation to notify does not therefore apply to equal and voluntary sexual relations between young people. However, if the situation has involved pressure or persuasion to commit sexual acts or, for example, the exploitation of the drunken state of the other party, the characteristics of crime may be fulfilled and a notification must be submitted. In unclear situations, consult the police or the HUS Forensic Psychology Unit for Children and Adolescents.

In cases of suspected offences against life and health, typically suspected assaults, the obligation to notify applies to other forms of offence except for minor assault. Minor assault of a child may include, for example, a single act of pulling the child’s hair or filliping, when there have been no injuries and there are no concerns about the child’s general safety. If you are unsure whether the matter is subject to notification, consult the police. A child welfare notification must be submitted even when the violence against a child is so mild that the threshold for reporting it to the police is not exceeded.

The police and child welfare services must be notified without delay in order to assess the need for child welfare and to initiate a police investigation.  On the basis of the notification, the police will consider whether there is reason to suspect a crime has been committed and, if necessary, to initiate a preliminary investigation.